papaflamingo

CWN is correct. You will book your dining reservations on line before the cruise, but you get 1 reservation per specialty restaurant per cruise segment. If you want more you book on the ship. And CWN is also correct that you can to all this without a butler. For us, we found our butler to most useful in many other ways. When we had 2 tours in one day he would have lunch waiting for us in our cabin upon return from the first tour so we could eat while changing for the second tour. Of course we could have simply gone to the pool grill, called room service, etc. But we had only a short time from a water tour to a land tour so we wanted to shower, etc. We simply told our butler what we wanted and what time we wanted it and it was there for us,. We enjoyed the afternoon canapés. We enjoyed room service dinner and he would present it whenever we wanted it and course by course if we wanted. We often did room service breakfast for our early excursions. We would simply pre-order with the butler and give him the time and there he was. He made sure we had water, ice, etc. at all times. He kept us up to date on all activities. When we cancelled a shore tour we told him and he handled it for us. Any issues ANY issues we simply called him up and it was handled. No going to Guest Services, calling maintenance, etc. Simply let the butler know. Do we NEED a butler? No. Did we use him to the fullest? No. We didn't have him unpack or pack for us (even though he offered). We didn't use him to shine our shoes (although he will). My wife wouldn't let him pour my bourbon on the rocks (even though I was more than willing to let him and avoid walking across the cabin to pour bourbon on ice) 🤣. But on our last cruise we really missed him for all the reasons we DID use him. I would not pay thousands just for the butler. BUT, on Voyager, if you get a Penthouse B or A, you also get a bit larger room. IMHO it's a nicer layout than the concierge. We are doing 70 nights on Voyager in 2025 and I splurged on the Penthouse B for the nicer cabin layout and yeah....we'll like having the butler. So as CWN said, you have to ask yourself if it's worth the extra money? If it's $70 per day for a Penthouse B (bigger cabin) I'd do it. For a Penthouse C, not so sure. But it's sure a nice dilemma. 😎

Who does your husband fly for? My son is a FedEx pilot. I was Delta.😎 DCA to MIA, I'd book my own ticket. Yes, you do get a rebate of around $150 or so from Regent for not using their flights. You can still use their return. In fact it should tell you on the website what the airfare credit is. The majority of the airfare will be the International portion. I'm fairly sure the Domestic is $150. You shouldn't have much problem getting from DCA to MIA. Of course time of year is a factor for weather, but if you have a couple backups you SHOULD be ok. I really don't think that once you deviate, you get any real benefit from Regent other than their airfare. For international Business Class, they can't be beat. But domestically you go Coach so it isn't always a savings. I purchase my domestic flights with my Delta discount. Between the $175 deviation fee and the $150 cost of one way domestic, I can get First Class for close to the same. I've done this on both cruises I've taken, paid for my flight to the cruise, but used Regent for the International return. In fact, I'd suggest you look at Deviating home from Barcelona. For the $175 you can select a flight that may be way more convenient for you and you'll be able to secure it up to 270 days out. Even if you are coming home the same day the cruise gets in. For me, it's worth $175 to pick my airlines and flights ahead of time. If they can't offer you something you want, you simply don't deviate and let them figure it out.

I may have missed this... where are you flying from and to? If the flight cost is less than $175 then by all means simply make your own arrangements. If they fly the night before, then you still have the ability, if something happens, to get out early the next day and to the ship on time. Are you taking out cruise insurance? Your screen name "flyboyswife" makes me wonder.... I am a retired airline pilot. Is your husband a commercial pilot? If so, then you are very likely aware of the workings of the airlines. That will certainly help in your decisions. Anyway, if your city pairs are U.S. domestic, and not transcontinental, then you may not have much to worry about.

On our 2 cruises we found that entertainment stopped in lounges during the theater show. On Mariner the piano player would play until the show started then would start after the show ended, so about an hour break. Also the duo performed every night in the Observation Lounge. And they were very entertaining. But after the show. On Navigator every night the band (4 members) came up to Galileos after the show and played from about 10 to midnight. I don't remember when the piano player performed on Navigator, but I believe she was playing around 5 pm for a while then sometimes later after the show was over. Remember, these are small ships. There isn't enough interest in the shows to warrant 2 shows per night. Regent is a quieter experience than the major cruise lines. The service is impeccable and for me the food is excellent. For me, the entertainment is more than sufficient. But I don't sail for the shows. If I want non stop entertainment I'll head to Royal Caribbean. They are just very different styles of cruising.

Interesting. I wonder... will there be a $500 fee per person if you cancel the cruise prior to final payment? We have had to do that a couple times due to Covid but before the cruise line cancelled the cruise.

A quick comment... if you choose to book a Penthouse on Voyager, you may want to get a Penthouse B or A. The Penthouse C is the exact same as a Concierge. The Penthouse A and B are a different layout and a bit bigger. In my opinion they are a nicer layout. As for the Butler, we had one on our first cruise and turned out we really loved having him. As you said, much more personalized service. He did everything for us from booking extra dining in a specialty restaurant to bringing canapés in the afternoon. Any questions or issues he handled. We didn't have a butler on our second cruise and turned out we missed him quite a bit. If the cost between a Concierge and a Penthouse isn't significant, then you may want to consider it.

Exactly. I was really just responding to the comment "well why don't they choose 10am instead of 4pm." Again..... as Jimmy Buffett said, "it's Five O'Clock somewhere." 😎

Yeah...you have to pace yourself. I try to lose weight before the cruise, then I can "grow" back into my clothes. 🤣

We've done 44 and 40 nights on Regent. On the 44 night cruise I gained about 11 pounds. I "paced" myself. But Regent portions are not "crazy," but reasonable. We walked a lot. I think the Regent ingredients are top notch, not a lot of sodium, etc. I also didn't indulge everyday at breakfast or lunch, and even dinners were reasonably portioned with a lot of seafood. As for ship and suite... we did 44 nights in a Penthouse on Mariner (well worth the upgrade) and 40 in a deluxe suite on Navigator. Loved every minute of both cruises.

That would be 10 am....in Hawaii. 😎

More likely Covid will be treated like Norovirus due to how contagious it is. As you know, if you are diagnosed with Norovirus you're denied boarding or if on board, quarantined. Same really with Covid. I imagine this is now the "new normal" for cruising.

Yup... have done that many times (I live in Eastern time). But just remember, someone will have to do it. As that great philosopher, Jimmy Buffett said:

Fair enough. But sounds like Regent might not be your "glass of wine." Just sayin'. They do it the way they do it and sail fairly full ships so it doesn't seem to be much of an issue. Doubt they'll change what seems to be a winning formula. As I said earlier, I am not versed well enough in wine so I like to try different wines that a "professional" selects (the Sommelier) and if I like it I like it, if I don't I don't. So I'm good with it all. Like many have said, ask for the list and you'll probably get one. I don't want one because I will tend to only order something I recognize and I'll miss out on trying other wines. My wife is more "into" wine than me. If she isn't interested in the daily wine, she'll ask for a type i.e. Pino Noir. The Sommelier will let her know what' s available and what he recommends and off we go. No need for a list for us.

Thanks! It sounded like a good excursion but you know...often they sound good "on paper." Glad to hear that you enjoyed it! Sounds like we will also. 😎

Just a thought about this whole wine issue. As someone said, they're serving 500-700 passengers a night. So each person gets a comprehensive list of wines. Now each person decides to order a wine specific to their taste, or 500-700 potentially different bottles opened each night. What does Regent do with 500-700 bottles of wine opened each night, many only opened for one or two glasses? And will you accept a wine that was opened for someone else yesterday? Or will you demand they open a new bottle? How do they stock a ship, especially a small ship, with such an extensive list of wine and enough bottles of each for 10 nights or longer?

We will be doing the Melissani Maze and Ouzo tour next Oct. Sounds like you enjoyed it. Can you verify that it is a decent tour or should we look for something else? Thanks. Really enjoying your review, especially since we'll be on Voyager next year with some of the same ports.

Wow....lots of negatives, especially concerning wines. I'm not a wine connoisseur by any means, which means I like what I like. I don't particularly want to see a wine list as I'm not a wine connoisseur so I really don't know enough to pick. So I rely on the Sommelier to guide me in ny choice. If I am not interested in a white being offered, I'll ask for a different one and ask his or her suggestion. Works every time. This doesn't mean I'm one of "those not that into wine, they feel special and happy to get a "luxury experience", i.e., included wine," it means I don't know about wine so I ask the expert. That IS the "luxury experience." It's worked well for me. As for Covid.... well, we did a 40 night cruise from May 28-July 7, spent a week in England after the cruise. We did not mask or anything else. We got through the entire vacations Covid free. But here's MY Covid story. In 2021 we had Thanksgiving with our daughter in law's extended family, followed a week later with 3 days in Jacksonville, Fl. for a crowded Jimmy Buffett concert, followed by Christmas with extended family, followed by a 7 night New Years Cruise with 1500 of "our closest friends" including airport visits to and from the cruise. NO COVID! A month later we took care of our 2 grandsons for a weekend, seeing NO ONE but the grandkids, and I came home with Covid. My wife remained Negative. Sorry y'all, this is just "life in the new decade." It's not Regent's fault, or anyone else's, it's just what we now know is the "new normal." Guess we'll all have to live with it. Party. on! 🥃🍷🥂🍹🍺😎

We figured what it was. But the Royal Caribbean member had no real idea. But being aware that we had purchased, on board, an item that exceeded our allowance, it was pretty obvious to us. The cruise lines are required by law to report items purchased to Customs. We're "rule followers" anyway, so we declare what we purchase as I don't want to face the legal issues of trying to smuggle goods into the country. I flew for the airlines for 29 years so I'm fully aware of both the limits we can bring duty free, and the penalties we could face for failing to declare them.

We had a similar thing happen a number of years ago. My wife bought a pair of earrings on board and when we were in the long line to get off the ship, and scanned our sea passes, we go the "bong" and a ships agent came over. She escorted us around the line to luggage, assisted us in claiming our luggage, then escorted us to a separate customs area where we showed our receipt. Paid the duty (it was not very much) and headed to the car. EASIEST debarkation EVER! Saved a lot of time getting a personal escort off the ship and through Customs. I guess it's all a matter of perspective.

Generally. If you have a Butler then he or she can do it for you. Or go to the restaurant you're interested in and see what's available. Sometimes you can simply walk up and they'll have a free table.

There is no time "friendly across all time zones". 4pm EDT is 1pm PDT and in the middle of someone's work day. In fact 4pm EDT is the time most people are winding up work and getting ready to head home. As that "great philosopher," Jimmy Buffett said "It's five o'clock somewhere." 😎.

Enjoying your review. We will be overnighting in Istanbul next year so your commentary is very helpful and interesting. As for your comment "I should have just taken my phone off airplane mode," look into downloading a free GPS app. I use Maps.me. I download all the cities or ports that our cruise will visit prior to leaving home. I then research each place for some recommendations, and "save" them on the Maps.me program. When we arrive in port, Maps.me only uses the phone's GPS so you can stay in "airplane" mode and still have accurate walking or driving directions. I've used it for years and highly recommend it. Of course there are other equally good GPS apps available. Looks like it'll be a great cruise. I look forward to following along. 😎

Here is a link to TSA's website regarding medications. Read and comply and you should have no problems. If you have a specific question, email TSA and get an official answer. https://www.tsa.gov/travel/special-procedures

Yes, the only way is to send in checked luggage.

I would assume that these same bottles are on all of Regent's ships. Don't know for sure. But it's most likely that they purchase them in huge bulk and distribute them fleet wide. As other have said, they are not insulated so the water tends to become room temp fairly fast. However for me, since I usually carry a backpack, they are convenient. I have an outside pouch they fit in and I can clip it with the carabiner so it doesn't slip out. Because they have no insulation, they aren't overly heavy. If you want an insulated bottle you'll have to bring your own. And there are water stations for the bottles around the ship. But we told our Cabin Steward that we drink a lot of water so she always made sure there were 4 glass bottles in the stateroom. We simply poured from the glass bottle to the metal bottle, a feat that had it's "entertainment value" during rough seas. 😎